Monday, March 31, 2014

Door 24 is an excellent iPad app for basic Math skills, number sense, and Algebraic thinking. This innovative game has students using computational fluency to solve a number of equations in 6 different levels as they try to help fix Victor the robots circuits and solve the mystery behind Door 24. This game is designed for grades 4th-8th, aligned to Common Core Standards, and has a high replay value w/ their unique reward system.

TwistedWave is a neat little online audio editor that I just found out about from Free Technology 4 Teachers. This new (beta) site allows for users to upload or record an audio file and then edit it. Also, TW integrates w/ SoundCloud and Google Drive to make for easy uploading/exporting. Editing options include the ability to cut, fade in/out, adjust pitch, and more making it a rather robust online tool.

Tangram Chess is an excellent iOS game from the creator of MathFileFolderGames. This is a multiplayer game that has students trying to move shapes using: rotations, translations, and reflections across a chess board. The player to move their shape to the other side of the board first wins. Best of all, as w/ most MFFG this app is bluetooth enabled which means that two players can play on multiple devices.

Sunday, March 30, 2014

DimensionU is one of the best companies around for Game Based Learning. This is an excellent site for educators wanting to use GBL in the subjects of Math and Literacy. These games are designed for grades 3rd-9th and are aligned to Common Core Standards. DU uses four different innovative games that immerse a player in a 3D virtual environment.

Below is a list of the games...

Meltdown is the DimensionU game that
offers students a second chance when
answering difficult questions, and rewards
creative strategies to achieve victory.

Swarm is DimensionU's team-based game
that most strongly reinforces cooperation
and collaboration between students to
achieve a common goal.

Towerstorm is the DimensionU game
that is best for working through the most
curriculum in the shortest amount of time.

Velocity is DimensionU's high-speed obstacle
course that ensures players answer
questions correctly in order to continue
progressing through the race.

Level It Books is an excellent iOS app that teachers everywhere are using to scan a book and get a Reading Level. This is perfect for anyone who wants to be able to easily find out if a book is the appropriate Reading Level for their student/child. Best of all a educator can use this to track their students and their Reading Levels, keep a digital library of class books, and even create wish lists (think Amazon). Also, there are lots of other features such as manually searching for books, a book of the day, and more.

Saturday, March 29, 2014

iPracticeMath is an excellent all-in-one resource for all things Math. This is a great place where educators/students can find: problem walk-throughs, games, worksheets, and more. Also, it doesn't matter what topic of Math is being covered, iPracticeMath has it all (i.e. fractions, division, decimals, etc.) it's perfect for K-12. Best of all, is the educational portal that allows teachers to manage and track student activity and generate detailed reports for analyzing student performance.

30hands Learning is an excellent company for creating an innovative LMS (Learning Management System) as well as a free iOS app that is ideal for digital storytelling. The 30hands community is a perfect cloud based solution that allows educators to: manage/track students, hand in/out assignments, schedule events, and more.

The free iOS app uses a easy drag-n-drop interface to allow users to take or upload/draw images. Once the images are uploaded they can then be dragged into any order. Finally, a user can then record their audio to narrate a story. It can then be saved to the users to device or shared into the 30hands Learning community. This is an excellent free tool to integrate technology into the classroom that can be used by any subject.

SpellingCity the number one site around for Spelling and Vocabulary. This excellent site allows educators to find or create their own word lists and then integrate them into educational games to motivate student learning. Also, there is an educational portal for tracking students as well as lots of references for teachers.

Right now they are offering 15% off for Teachers, Parents, and Homeschoolers through 3-31-14. Just use the code 150ffSpring.

Friday, March 28, 2014

Zammer is a innovative site/app (iOS) for students working on Multiplication & Vocabulary skills. This is done through an interactive game that can be played either: solo, against a friend, or random. The game has students trying to answer questions as fast as possible to earn zollars/badges used to customize their avatar and theme. Best of all is the teacher web interface that allows them to manage their class and track student progress to assess them.

*Keep in mind this app is for UK/US and does allow for students to add/request friends (this should always be done under adult/parent approval.)
I highly recommend checking out Zammer by clicking here!!!

Earlier this week I did a post on The Answer Pad a wonderful graphical student response system. Yesterday they just released a big update w/ their newest feature being that of the digital portfolio. This is a great way to collect and organize students work to show case for future classes, self assessment, and track students progress and growth. A educator can create a portfolio by class or student and use the auto capture feature to automatically take snap shots for their portfolio or do it manually. Other new features is the ability to tag (i.e. CC, theme, unit, etc.), flag responses to review later, and the ability to export a portfolio to PDF.

Thursday, March 27, 2014

BrainRush is one of my favorite new sites for Game Based Learning (GBL). This is a great resource for educators looking to find educational games on a wide variety of subjects such as: Math, Foreign Language, Social Studies, etc. Also, a teacher can create their own or customize an existing game to meet their needs. Best of all the games are ideal for differentiated instruction (and aligned to Common Core Standards) using it's unique engine to adapt to each student's learning.

Healthy Heroes 1 is a wonderful iOS game from the excellent mobile app company Yogome. This is a fun app for the younger kids learning about Nutrition and healthy eating habit. After selecting a Yogotar (the famous avatars of Yogome), the child has to feed 6 different hungry monsters in 36 levels before they destroy the Yogopolis. This is done by selecting the nutritious snacks/food items that are dropped down in baskets. Each stage tells you what kind of foods to select as well calorie content. After each level is deleted a healthy eating tip is then revealed.

Poptropica is a free iPad app based on the popular online game by Jeff Kinney (author of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series). This is a super fun adventure game that has kids solving puzzles and using logical thinking to complete quests on two different islands. Best of all, it is completely safe, saves user data, and has high replay value. It's a nice way for kids to play a educational type game w/out playing one of those mindless shooting/fighting style games that are so popular.

ClassDojo the ever popular site for behavior management has just released their biggest feature to date, messaging. The way this works is quite simple and no phone number or private data is needed. All a person needs is to be using the free mobile app (iOS/Android) to connect w/ each other. This is a great way for educator to share (private messages) how their student is doing w/ parents, group messages to a list of parents, and read when parents are receiving/reading their messages (think FB).

I highly recommend checking out ClassDojo Messaging by clicking here!!!

Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Answer Pad is one of the best free (per 1 teacher - 8 groups & 200 students) tools around for mobile devices. This is a easy to use graphical student response system that helps turns a classroom paperless by allowing for all testing/assessing to be done on mobile devices. Educators use the web interface to create lessons then push them out to student devices using the free TapIt app. This allows them to guide learning, differentiate instruction, and assess students in real-time.

Also, there are lots of templates for teachers to browse through and customize to meet their needs. For example, an educator can download a template of a graph, map, clock, grid etc. and then draw/type/annotate on it to use w/ their students.

Modern Chalkboard is a wonderful new free site for finding SMART board resources. This is a great place to find interactive lessons on a wide variety of subjects such as: Math, Grammar, Science, and Social Studies. Also, this is a nice place to find other resources such as links and help files.

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Buncee is one of the best all around sites for integrating technology into any curriculum in a safe and easy way. Buncee is a excellent web tool (as well as iOS app) for creating beautiful looking multimedia presentations, cards, posters, greetings, etc. This is all done through a very easy to use drag-n-drop interface that has students adding text, animations, stickers, photos, etc onto a digital canvas. Once the presentation is finished it can then be shared w/ others or even embedded into a site/blog.

Best of all, Buncee has an educational portal which allows educators to create student accounts, track monitor projects, adjust privacy settings, and more. This is a perfect solution for Project Based Learning, Differentiating Instruction, Blended Learning, etc. Finally, there are lots of educational projects to browse through/borrow to see how others are using Buncee in their classroom.

I highly recommend checking out Buncee for education by clicking here!!!

Below is a brief example...*Buncee is an advertiser of Technology Tidbits.

Scrawlar is a new web tool that I just found out about from Larry Ferlazzo's excellent blog. This is an excellent site that acts as a virtual whiteboard/word processors for schools. It's a free collaborative tools that is ideal for education that it requires no student email for access, only a class code where a teacher creates an account. Best of all, Scrawlar can be used on any device and allows students to collaborate on projects/word documents.

Chromville is a fantastic mobile app (Android/iOS) for using Augmented Reality to complete a fantasy adventure. The way this works is by downloading the free app and then printing out the pages to color. As a student colors one of the pages for the village they chose the characters come to life in 3D augmented reality via their mobile device. This is a innovative way to integrate technology into the classroom and a lot of fun for the students.

Monday, March 24, 2014

FluencyFinder the leading iOS app for assessing Reading levels and comprehension has been updated to version 2.5. The latest version has been redesigned for iOS 7 for a sleeker polished look. Exporting results is easier w/ a email share button, and educators can now search through Reading passages.

FluencyFinder is an extremely easy app to use as all an educator has to do is print out a Reading passage (1st-8th Grade) and tap the timer to start assessing a student. As a student corrects or makes a mistake, the teacher then taps the (+) or (-) button to score the student. Once the passage is a read, the educator taps stop and instant real-time results are given unless they choose to go on to Comprehension questions.

FluencyFinder has saved me so much time! I love this app. All I need to do is grab my iPad, look up a particular student, and I am able to find their results in seconds.Michelle, 3rd grade teacher, Maryland

I heard about this app from another teacher at school and it has changed my life. I don’t know how we ever got by without it! Thank you, FluencyFinder! iTunes App Store Review

Swivl is an innovative robotic device (accompanied w/ mobile app) that holds a mobile device (i.e tablet, iPad, iPhone etc.) and records while following along what the user holding the Swivl remote is doing. For example, if a teacher is giving a lecture or wants to record themselves or students then would use the Swivl to record the event w/out the limits of having to stand in one spot in front of a camera. The Swivl will will turn/rote or raise up/down to record what the teacher is doing.

Also, Swivl has a secure cloud environment for sharing video and a user can use the mobile app to edit their video as well as add other content to their video (i.e. images, slides, etc.) This is great for educators who want to Flip their classroom, assess themselves or students, and even for giving professional development.

Sunday, March 23, 2014

Super Teacher Worksheets is one of my favorite one stop shop for finding educational resources in a wide variety of subjects. This super handy sites has lots of resources for educators such as: worksheets, printables, puzzles, holidays, and more. Most of the resources are aligned to Common Core Standards and they even have worksheet generators to make puzzles, crosswords, etc.

"Otus is an easy-to-use, yet powerful classroom tool that brings the best iPad and Chromebook education features together into one secure environment, and uses a single Google login." I must say after reading this tag line I was quite intrigued to give Otus a look and it IS a complete mobile learning environment for schools. Otus comes in two free iPad apps one for the teacher and one for the student. Keep in mind when downloading it will state that it is a 17+ app and the reason for that is the built in browser. However, a educator can monitor browser activity inside of Otus as well as a school should have a filter in place via their district policy (Although, it is widely recommend to view your students/child's browsing habits to make sure that they are not viewing anything inappropriate). Also, a user (teacher/student) will need a Google account to login.As w/ most Learning Management Systems (LMS) Otus allows educators to create classes, manage attendance/assignments/grades, poll students, and more. They can create digital bookshelves to host all kinds of digital media (i.e. books, videos, sites, etc) and assess students in real-time. The split screen feature allows users to take notes using any feature of Otus as well as taking notes during browsing.I highly recommend checking out Otus by clicking here!!!

Saturday, March 22, 2014

GoClass is a excellent mobile learning solution that is redefining classrooms worldwide. This fantastic simple to use combo web tool/mobile app (Android/iOS) allows educators to create and manage student accounts, while sending them engaging lessons to complete on their mobile device. This is ideal for Guided/Blending Learning and Flipping a Classroom. Also, GoClass allows educators to assess student data in real-time and differentiate instruction.

Friday, March 21, 2014

9Slides is a great site/mobile app (iOS/Android) for Flipping a Classroom by adding narration to any type of presentation (PPT, Keynote, etc). This is an excellent easy to use tool that can be used by educators or students to create engaging presentations. Educators can use it for Guided Learning, Flipping a lesson, or more. Also, a finished presentation can be embedded into a site or blog.

Brainfeed is an excellent free iPad app for finding safe educational videos for students. These videos are targeted for kids ages 7 and up and are curated by educators from around the world in a wide range of subjects. All these videos are previously viewed by educators and links are removed making them safe. Also, this is a great way to "flip" instruction by having students learn outside of the classroom.

Thursday, March 20, 2014

Letter Battle is a super fun iOS app that I just downloaded for my kids to work on their Spelling skills. This is a great RPG type game (grades 1st-4th) where a user can select their skill level and type of word (i.e. Science, School, Vacation, etc) to embark on an epic adventure. Basically, it works like any turn based strategy game but uses spelling as the means of attack. If a player spells the word wrong they will miss. The goal is to defeat enemies, collect power ups, and advance levels as they complete their quest. Best of all a educator/parent can create custom word lists to integrate into the game.

Playfic is a site I've covered in the past that is ideal for Creative Writing. This is an innovative site that lets users create text adventure/choose your own adventure games (i.e. Zork). It uses a programming language called Inform 7, that is rather user-friendly and a user can have created a game in minutes. This is a great way to spark creativity and help students practice their Writing skills.

Biteslide is one of my favorite Web 2.0 sites for creating beautiful looking presentations/sliding books w/ an educational portal. This is fantastic site that allows educators to create student accounts, can be used by any subject/curriculum, and easy to use w/ a drag-n-drop interface. Biteslide allows students to create presentations, digital portfolios, scrapbooks, and can even embed them into a site/blog Finally, this is a great site that can be used for Project Based/Blended Learning

Wizenworld is an excellent site for using Game Based Learning in a RPG/Action adventure to reinforce MS Math skills. This is a fun game that reminds me a bit of Zelda but instead of fighting enemies w/ a sword a players uses Math skills to defeat them. Best of all, Wizenworld allows for student tracking which makes it easy for educators to assess students and monitor how well they are doing.

Wednesday, March 19, 2014

EDpuzzle is one of my favorite site for Flipping a Classroom. This is done by taking any digital video and "making" it your own by cropping and adding questions into the video itself. This is great for assessing learning and for students to take their learning home. Finally, Edpuzzle recently updated their innovative site by allowing users to embed an image into a video as well to further create dynamic lessons. Also, a user can now use scientific notation in their text.

Tuesday, March 18, 2014

Been the innovative site for visually bookmarking a site and collaborating has just launched a educational portal that makes it perfect for educators to use w/ their class. This free web tool is not only ideal for social bookmarking in schools but real-time collaborative web browsing as well. Been's new web portal now allows for educators to create student accounts, and communicate w/ them in real-time while bookmarking/browsing the web.

This is ideal for Guided Learning, Flipping a Classroom, Project Based Learning, and can be used by any subject or curriculum. Educators can use it to create internet scavenger hunts, to research/introduce a topic, or any other number of possibilities.

The educator account is perfect for moderating student's Beens (bookmarks/collections), comments, resetting passwords, etc. Being "housed" inside of an educational portal allows for educators to see public Beens but only allows for students to see those of their teacher. Teachers can also collaborate w/ their peers to allow for collective Beens that can be use for group projects.

Finally, the ability to collaboratively surf the web when being on the same page allows for students/educators to share comments and surf together to guide instruction. Also, educators can assess students who have questions when surfing the web or researching a topic.

I highly recommend checking out Been for Education by clicking here!!!

Word Clouds by ABCYa is an excellent free iPad app that I just found out about from Free Technology 4 Teachers. This is a great app similar to Wordle or Tag Cloud for creating those ever popular word clouds. Word clouds are often used to visual represent a word frequency and can be used by any subject or curriculum. This app is very easy to use and allows a user to edit their clouds by font color, size, etc.

I highly recommend checking out Word Clouds by ABCYa by clicking here!!!

Hemingwayapp is a nifty little web tool that I just found out about from the amazing educator, Ozge Karaoglu. This is a nice site for students who want to improve their Writing skills. All a user has to do is copy/paste in some text and click edit and they will get a Readability score. The score will tell you how many paragraphs/words you have, how many hard to read sentences, suggestions on how to shorten or switch verbs around, etc etc.

Monday, March 17, 2014

This is going to be one of my most ambitious posts yet, as I have curated a gigantic list of my favorite sites/apps for Game Based Learning (a.k.a Gamification). I've done posts on educational iOS Apps and Educational Online Games but I have never combined the two and curated a list that specifically deals w/ GBL. The resources below will vary from drill and practice to all out epic adventures in 3D virtual worlds, to help Gamify a classroom. One theme I have noticed is that the subject of Math uses the concept of Game Based Learning quite often. I hope you enjoy this list as much as I have in creating it.

*This list is in alphabet order.** mobile app

Top 100 Sites/Apps for Game Based Learning

**4 Dice: Fractions - A super fun iOS game that can be played on up to 5 devices as students hone their Fraction skills (i.e. adding, dividing, etc.) while combining rolling dice and bowling.

**5 Dice: Order of Operations - A great iOS game that has students playing solo/multiplayer as they roll dice and try to use numbers and operations to "hit" the target number.

ABCya - A fantastic company w/ a wide variety of educational online games and iOS apps for a number of different subjects grades K-5th.

**Little Digits - A great iPad app for young kids learning about numbers, adding, and subtracting as well as associating them w/ fingers.

Lure of the Labyrinth - Gamification at it's best in this mysterious adventure Middle School based Pre-Algebra game.

Magnahigh - A wonderful way for educators to teach Math using a Game Based Learning environment where students can compete in a safe environment.

**Marble Math (Jr/Lite) - A collection of different apps that focuses on basic Math skills while trying to guide a marble through a series of challenging puzzles.

**Math Champ Challenge - A great iOS app for lots of Math questions aligned to Common Core Standards using Game Based Learning.

Math Chimp - A nice site for lots of resources, worksheets, and educational games in the different areas of Math.

**Math Evolve - A widely popular iOS game for learning basic Math skills while either playing through Story (Sci Fi shooter type game) or Practice (flash card style practice) mode.

**Math Heroes 1 & 2 - Super fun iOS apps that has students using basic Math skills and the ever popular Yogotars to solve equations and defeat their opponents.

**Math Minute Madness - A fun iOS game that has students try solve 50 basic Math problems in one minute. As students progress through the game they earn stars that they can redeem for animals that they can put in their virtual zoo.

**Math vs. Undead - A crazy iOS game that has students solving basic Math problems while trying to defeat the cartoony zombie horde in over 30 levels of fun!!

**MathFileFolderGames - A great company that creates fun, multiplayer mobile Math apps in a wide range of topics (i.e. Fractions, Plotting points on a graph, Tangrams, etc.)

MathGameTime - A great site for educational Math games for K-7th in a wide variety of subjects (i.e. Algebra, Physics, Time, etc.)

**Maths Tree Vs - A fun multiplayer iPad app that has students practicing basic Math skills while trying to drop different objects on top of their opponents.

**Mathtastical - An interesting iOS app that uses Game Based Learning to reinforce Math skills while collecting different power ups to move on up the leader board.

MinecraftEDU - Is the educational version of the mega popular PC hit being used in classrooms throughout the world.

**Moody Monster Manor - A nice iOS game for kids 3-8 yrs old learning about emotions as well as critical thinking skills.

**Numbers League - A fantastic iPad app that uses a comic book style to have kids of all ages working on their different Math skills.

**Operation Math - A wonderful iPad app that has students using basic Math skills to defeat Dr. Odd in this spy filled game of over a 100 missions.

**Ordered Fractions - A nice multiplayer Math game that has comparing and putting fractions in order. Also, this game is aligned to Common Core Standard and can send progress reports to pareants/teachers via email.

PlayBrighter - A innovative site that uses an animated virtual environment to teach kids through educational games and lessons the teachers setup.

Play Kids Games - A fun site w/ educational portal that allows educators to create a classroom and track their educational games.

PowerMyLearning - Great site for educators to search for games by Common Core Standard, build playlists, and track student progress.

**Presidents vs. Aliens - A very fun iOS game that reminds me of Space Invaders as you fling US Presidents at the incoming aliens. A great app for History teachers and learning about different facts of the 44 US Presidents.

**Recycle Hero - One of my favorite iOS apps for learning about the environment/recycling by playing through a variety of games.

RoomRecess - A wonderful site w/ lots of educational games for students K-5.

**Save the Sushi - A great iOS app for students learning their Multiplication tables while earning badges and playing w/ their friends.

**Science Heroes - A excellent iOS app that has students challenging 5 different bosses in 15 different missions to explore the different regions of the Digestion system (i.e. mouth, stomach, intestine, etc.).

Science Monster - A fun site for finding lots of lessons, apps, and games for the different areas of Science.

**Shake-a-Phrase - A super fun iOS app that helps students w/ Vocabulary, parts of a sentence, and even create Writing prompts.

Sheppard Software - A nice site for lots of educational games and activities in a wide range of subjects.

**Sight Words Hangman - A great iOS app game that focuses on over 300 sight words and 30 word lists to help teach students.

SimCityEDU - The award winning PC game now has educational portal to allow for Game Based Learning aligned to Common Core Standards.

**Skip Math - A fun iOS jumping game that uses computational fluency (i.e. counting by 2's, 4's, etc.) to help land on the correct number.

Skoolbo - A virtual world filled w/ educational games to help kids 4-10 yrs old in Literacy and Math.

**Slice Fractions - A nice iOS game for learning the basics of Fractions w/ high replay value.

**Spelling Hero - A excellent iOS app that uses a flash card style game to help users learn how to spell different words and their definition.

SpellingCity - A fantastic site/app for students to find educational games for Spelling and Vocabulary. Also, there is an educational portal for teachers where they create their own custom word lists to incorporate into the games.

Spree Games - A great site for finding lots of games for K-12, as well as creating lists of your favorite games.

**Sugar Shake - A interesting iPad game for Chemistry that has students shaking/tilting sugar molecules to set off chemical reactions.

Sumdog - A excellent site/app w/ educational portal that allows educators to track students progress in educational competitive games. Also, the games tailor to differentiated instruction to meet student needs.

**Sushi Monster - A fun iOS game that has students practicing Multiplication/Addition to help feed a sushi monster by building equations.

**Tangram Chess - A innovative Math iOS game that has students moving shapes across a chess board to complete their tangram using: translations, rotations, and reflections.

MathPickle is an excellent resource for K-12 Math teachers. This is a great site that has a wide collection of Math videos that users are able to search via grade level or subject. Also, this is a nice place for open discussion via a forum, a place to find important people in Math, as well as different perspective on the use of games in the classroom.

Sunday, March 16, 2014

Verso is an excellent new site/app that I just found out about from Free Technology 4 Teachers. This free site allows educators to "flip" their classroom by creating lessons that students can then view at home and then response to. The way this works is educators create a class and lesson(s) (i.e. sites, videos, etc) and then shares a unique code w/ their students. The students download the free mobile app to then view the lessons, complete them, and then respond to them. This is a great way to engage and assess students learning as well as differentiate instruction.

The Amazing Digestive Journey is a nice iOS app for Health/Science teachers wanting to introduce the concept of digestion to students. This interactive app lets students complete activities that start in the mouth while they try to help cure a patient of their ailments. This app focuses on the different aspects of digestion through organs such as: esophagus, stomach, liver etc as well as different enzymes.

I highly recommend checking out The Amazing Digestive Journey by clicking here!!!

GoNoodle is a fantastic to be used on a whiteboard/projector to give students "brain" breaks throughout the school day. This is done by interacting w/ three different videos/activities: Airtime, Run w/ Us, and Maximo. Integrating GoNoodle into the classroom has a positive effect on students and helps reenergize them to maximize their potential throughout the day.

Friday, March 14, 2014

Sumdog is an excellent iPad for educational games in Math, Reading, and Writing. Based on the popular website, Sumdog has student's playing against other student's worldwide to build their skills. The only requirement is signing up on their free website to be able to play the games on an iPad.

slackmath is a cool little site I just found out about from Richard Byrne's excellent blog. This is an innovative site where students download Algebra problems (PDF format) that has a QR code next to it. The students then try to solve the problem and then scan the QR code to watch a video explanation of the solution.

Thursday, March 13, 2014

iColorType is a new iPad app ideal for students learning how to touch type or keyboarding. iColor uses a fun color coded keyboard to teach people how to type through muscle memory and hand eye coordination to reinforce the look-and-learn method. Also, this app will track a user's speed and accuracy through a series of timed speed tests and learning modules.

Wednesday, March 12, 2014

IdeaStorm is a nice simple free iPad app for brainstorming/mind mapping. A user can use an abundance of drawing tools to sketch, draw, and paint their ideas on a canvas. They can also save their sketches into stacks for future use.

Tuesday, March 11, 2014

Gadzookery is a wonderful free iOS app that helps students build their Writing and Vocabulary skills. This can be done by either playing one player or against random opponents where a person tries to create a sentence from a given word. What makes this nice for educators is that the game comes w/ a built in dictionary/thesaurus to help kids create their sentences. Scoring is done by each letter and a person can challenge another person (to eliminate their opponent's score) for misspelled/made up words.

Answerables is a wonderful new innovative site/game that is perfect for Game Based Learning (or more accurate Game Based Learning meets Learning Management System). It reminds me of Second Life but geared more toward kids w/ their fantasy/SciFi environment. The game takes place in the 3D virtual world of Answerables on a planet called Proxima, where the native Ansibles (students) encounter an alien race.

What makes this so great for education that is the safe/COPPA compliant environment that Answerables provides. This is an ideal place for students to collaborate w/ others and develop their social learning skills. Answerables provides windows (i.e. Second Life) to view the web, go on quests, etc. The student dashboard allows students to track their quests, notifications, events, PODS (Personal Online Development Spaces), and more.

Educators can create a lesson/POD (manage permissions), create webquests, internet scave
nger hunts, host live events, and best of all "Gamify" their lesson. This is great for introducing a new concept, guided/differentiated instruction, and even "Flipping" a classroom. Also, teachers (parents too) can track/monitor student progress, share and view resources by collaborating w/ other educators, and even setup tutoring courses where they set their own rate.

Monday, March 10, 2014

Angle Asteroids is a wonderful free iOS app that helps students learn how to measure angles. This is a fun app that any Math/Geometry teacher can use that has students try to blast incoming asteroids by aligning it to the correct angle from their spaceship. Also, being a part of Sylvan's education series allows for parents/educators to track student progress.

Friday, March 7, 2014

Lesson Corner is an excellent free site for finding an abundance of educational resources. This is a great place to find a wide variety of worksheets, free K-12 lesson plans, and even puzzle generators. Best of all these resources are rated on a 5 star scale and even provide and answer key for worksheets/lessons.

AR Flashcards Space is the new free iOS app from the kings of augmented reality, Mitchlehan Media. All a user has to do is print out the AR cards to start viewing the solar system in augmented reality. This is a fun and great way to introduce this topic to students as well as being to interact w/ 3D objects by tapping on them to hear info about each planet.

Thursday, March 6, 2014

Tynker is a new iPad app for learning how to program or code that I just found out about from Free Technology 4 Teachers. It's similar to many other programming sites/apps where users have to assemble blocks to have objects or characters move. Tynker uses a storyboard format where a student would arrange blocks in a certain order to complete the "program".

Wednesday, March 5, 2014

ThingLink is a wonderful site/app (iOS) for turning an ordinary image "interactive". The way this works is by adding/tagging a image, w/ audio, video, or links that get embedded into an image and then activated when the cursor moves over or clicks on it. Also, the educational portal allows for students to use ThingLink in lots of educational ways such as: create collages, annotate, and even used for digital storytelling. Best of all, a ThingLink image can be embedded into a site or blog.

Monday, March 3, 2014

geddit is fantastic free learning tool that is ideal for a 1:1 environment where educators can assess student's learning/understanding in real-time. This is all done through a very easy to use visual interface where students use mobile devices to inform teachers of their understanding in private and real-time. Through a tap of a button a student can respond to a question or lesson that details their level of understanding on a color coded bar graph. This makes it easy for educators to quickly glance who is understanding the material being taught and who might need help, making differentiated instruction easy.

Sunday, March 2, 2014

GoClass is an excellent all-in-one mobile learning solution for classroom. This is a fantastic free site/app for educators to create digital lessons, assign them to students, then to assess them in real-time. All this is done in combination w/ a web portal for creating student accounts and lessons and then having them using mobile devices to join and complete the lesson.

SpellingCity is one of the most popular and my favorite site around for all things Vocabulary and Spelling. This is an excellent place for educators to browse or create word lists and even incorporate them into educational games. Also, there is a free mobile app (iOS/Android) that integrates w/ the site for practicing Spelling/Vocab.

Saturday, March 1, 2014

Recycle Hero is one of the most played educational iOS apps that gets played in my house. This is a super fun app filled w/ games that helps teach kids about recycling. What make Recycle Hero so fun to play (and have high replay value) is all the cool features that one can unlock, such as worlds, characters, and more. RH allows for a user to select from 10 Yogotars (the famous characters of Yogome), play through 36 levels, and unlock 6 different worlds, while sorting through trash, solving puzzles, etc.

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David Kapuler

I have been working w/ technology and education for over 14 years in a school setting. I'm looking for work in a K-12 environment as a Technology Integration/Support Specialist in WI/IL. Contact email - dkapuler@gmail.com
I'm currently looking to get my Mac OS/Repair Certification, as well as a Masters in Technology Integration.
Also, I have a solid background in web design, w/ network/server support.
On a personal note, I';m a proud father of 3 boys and 1 girl, and have been married for 10 years.